Automatically-emptying cuspidor.



PATENTED SEPT. 22, 1903.

I A. M. CARTER. AUTOMATICALLY BMPTYING GUSPIDOR.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 11, 1903.

N0 MODEL.

a uoomfoz u m a mk NQRRIS-PETEiS w Pwnmwm wimnsma n To otZZ whom it may concern:

UNITED STATES ,IARTHUR M. CARTER,

OF DENNISON, OHIO.

AuTOMATlCALLY EMPTYlNG ,CUSPIDOR.

SZPEGIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 739,388, dated September 22, 1903.

Application filed April 11, 1903. f

I Be it known that l, ARTHUR M. CARTER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Dennison, in the county of Tuscarawas and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatically-Empty ing Ouspidors; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the. invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the figures of reference marked thereon, which form a par of this specification. 7

My invention relates to an automaticallyemptying cuspidor designed to be placed in the floors of railroad passenger-coaches,streetcars, or elsewhere; and it has forits object to provide a construction in which the cuspidor will consist of two funnel shaped cups or bowls, one within the other and both provided with weighted valves at their discharge ends, so as to automatically permit thedischarge of the contents of both bowls as the weight of material in each overcomes the weight of the counterbalance to each valve, the outer bowl serving to shield the inner bowl, so that the valve of the latter will not be afiected by strong currents of air which might tend to open the valve and admit currents of airrinto the car through the cuspidor.

It has further for its object to provide the outer cup or bowl with a swiveled or rotatable bottom made of two parts, one of which partsis hinged or pivoted, so as to form a valve or gate to the discharge end of the cup or bowl, the valve or gate portion being provided with a weather-vane, which also serves as a counterweight, by means whereof the unhinged portion of the bottom will always be toward the front end of the car,'thus protecting the hinged valve or gate portion against the influence of air-currents, which otherwise would tend to open the valve or gate, the swiveled bottom being rotated by the action of the air-currents on the vane except when the vane is toward the rear end of the car.

It has also for its object to provide a-shield or cover to the swivel of the rotatable bottom, so as to protect the swivel against the accumulation of dirt thereon and the conditions serarnaitazos. (No model.)

ot the weather, thus insuring an easyworking of the parts under all conditions.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and such other objects as may hereinafter appear, the invention consists in the construction and in the combination of parts hereinafter par side elevation of the outer bowl'or cup. I

In the drawings the numeral 1 designates the inner cup or bowl, made funnel-shaped and provided with the top plate 2, which rests upon the car-floor 3 and to which it may be Fig. 2 is a planview of the same; Fig. 3, a side eleva tion of the inner bowl or cup, and Fig. 4 a

secured by screws 4 or other suitable means.

The bowl lis provided with a grated cover 5 and has at its bottom a'valve 6, hinged or pivoted to a bracket 7 and provided with a coun-' terbalancing-weight 8,,which normally keeps the valve closed against a suitable gasket or other, packing 9, so as to make a tight joint at the bottom of the bowl. This cup or bowl is surrounded by an outer cup or bowl 10, which has at its upper end-a circular flange 11, fitting in a recess in'the bottom of the floor 3 and is held in place by the top plate 2 of the inner cup or bowl. The discharge-valve 20f the outer cup or bowl is encircled by a loosely-fitting ring 13,from which depends the two-part'bottom formedof the fixed wall Hand the pivoted wall 15, which latter constitutes a hinged valve or gate. This ring 13 swivels the two-part bottom to the discharge-mouth of the outer bowl, so that the bottom may revolve, and the hinged'valve 0r gate '15 is provided with a vane 17, which also constitutes a counterweight for holding the gate or valve normally closed. If this'vane 17- be toward the front of the car, the. strong air-current created by the movement of the car will by its impact against the vane cause the two-part bottom to revolve, so as to bring'the hinged gate or valve toward the rear of the car and the part 14 of the bottom toward thefront of the car, so that the part 14 will shield the hinged valve or gate against the influence of the strong air-current, and thus prevent the air-current from opening the valve or gate. When, however, matter accumulates in the outer bowl sufliciently to overcome the weight of the vane and counterbalance 17, the valve or gate will swing open, so as to permit the contents of the bowl to be discharged the counterweight-fin mediately thereafter closing the valve or gate. The parts 14 and 15 of the two-part bottom may each have a flange 18 extending from the meeting edges of the two parts 14 and 15, so as to make a close joint. For the purpose of protecting the swivel-ring 13 the outer bowl 10 has a depending annular flange 19, which, in connection with the wall of the discharge-mouth of the bowl, forms an annular groove, in which the ring 13 fits. This makes a joint which will prevent aircurrents from entering the bowl at such joint, and at the same time the annular flange 19 protects the ring 23 against the accumulation of dirt thereon and the conditions of the weather. The ring 13,with its attached two-part bottom, may be held in place by any suitable means, and for that purpose I have illustrated in the drawings a screw-cap 20, which screws onto the threaded end of the annular flange 19, and the ring 13 may be provided with an annular bead 21, which will rest upon the screwcap 20. Any other suitable means, however, may be provided for the same purpose and be within the scope of my invention.

Under the construction described an automatically-emptying cuspidor is provided in which the contents of the inner bowl are anmitted to act upon the valves would tend to open same and permit the entrance of strong air-currents into the car through the cuspidor. Both bowls can be flushed with water introduced from above whenever necessary for cleansing the same. The top of the inner bowl can be given any configuration desired and may be made of brass orother metal, and the lower bowl can be cast or made of sheet metal, as may be preferred. 4

I have illustrated and described with particularity the preferred details of construction and arrangement of the several parts; but it is obvious that changes can be made therein and essential features of my invention still be retained.

Having described my invention and forth its merits, what I claim is- 1. An automatically-emptying cuspidor comprising an inner and an outer bowl, the inner bowl having a counterbalanced valve and the outer bowl having a swiveled twopart bottom, one part of the bottom being hinged and provided with a counterbalancevane, substantially as described.

2. In a cuspidor, a bowl provided with a swivel two-part bottom, one part of the bottom being hinged and provided with a vane adapted to receive the impact of air to rotate the bottom and carry the hinged part toward the rear end of a car, substantially as described.

3. In a cuspidor, a bowl provided with an annular groove at its lower end, a rotatable ring within said groove, a two-part bottom secured to the ring, one part of the bottom being hinged and provided with a counterbalance-vane, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

' ARTHUR M. CARTER.

set

WVitnesses:

D. D. ll/IATTHEWS, A. D.'SPIKER. 

